Here are the times and announcing assignments for the MLB Divisional Series games, running between Oct. 5 and (potentially) Oct. 12, with some analysis of each matchup. All times are Eastern.
National League Division Series
San Diego vs. LA Dodgers
FOX Sports: Joe Davis, John Smoltz, Ken Rosenthal
FOX Deportes (Spanish): Edgar Gonzalez, Carlos Alvarez, Jaime Motta, Michelle Liendo, Rolando Nichols
ESPN Radio: Roxy Bernstein, Jessica Mendoza
Streaming: FOX Sports, MLB.TV
Game 1: Sat, October 5, at Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles; FS1 9:30 p.m.
Game 2: Sun, October 6, at Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles; FS1 8 p.m.
Game 3: Tue, October 8, at Petco Park, San Diego; FS1 9 p.m.
Game 4: Wed, October 9, at Petco Park, San Diego; FS1 9 p.m.*
Game 5: Fri, October 11, at Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles; FOX 8 p.m.*
*if necessary
The Dodgers’ 98-win season was the best in MLB this year, giving them the top seed in the NL and a bye through the Wild Card round. Their NL West rivals in San Diego weren’t far behind, though, going 93-69 and then taking down the Atlanta Braves 4-0 and 5-4 in their Wild Card series.
MLB Network/Bleav analyst Sean Casey recently spoke to AA on these playoffs, citing the amount of star power involved as particularly notable. That’s certainly true in this one, with Shohei Ohtani (who had the first 50 home runs/50 stolen bases season in MLB history, finishing with 54 and 59, respectively), Fernando Tatís Jr., and more.
NY Mets vs. Philadelphia
Fox Sports: Adam Amin, AJ Pierzynski, Adam Wainwright, Tom Verducci
Fox Deportes (Spanish): Edgar Gonzalez, Carlos Alvarez, Jaime Motta, Michelle Liendo, Rolando Nichols
ESPN Radio: Jon Sciambi, Doug Glanville
Streaming: Fox Sports, MLB.TV
Game 1: Sat, October 5, at Citizens Bank Ballpark, Philadelphia; Fox 4 p.m.
Game 2: Sun, October 6, at Citizens Bank Ballpark, Philadelphia; FS1 4 p.m.
Game 3: Tue, October 8, at Citi Field, New York; FS1 5 p.m.
Game 4: Wed, October 9, at Citi Field, New York; FS1 5 p.m.*
Game 5: Fri, October 11, at Citizens Bank Ballpark, Philadelphia; FS1 6 p.m.*
If SD/LAD ends in three games, Game 4 moves to 6 p.m. Game 5 moves to Fox at 8 p.m.
*if necessary
The 89-73 Mets got here in improbable fashion, qualifying for the postseason just this Monday thanks to Hurricane Helene’s weather impacts forcing a makeup doubleheader against the Braves. They then won their first Wild Card game against the Milwaukee Brewers 8-4, dropped the second 5-3, and won Thursday’s deciding game in dramatic fashion thanks to a late home run from Pete Alonso.
But the Amazins are now in for a tough clash with their NL East-rival Phillies. Philadelphia made it to the World Series in 2022, made it to the NLCS last year, and put up a 95-67 mark this year. And, unsurprisingly, there’s already a lot of hype around the Phillies and superstar Bryce Harper, including even with this MLB video:
Get ready for the #postseason (Bryce’s Version), narrated by Ryan Howard 🔔 pic.twitter.com/oVB6LEG3Kd
— MLB (@MLB) October 4, 2024
But they’ve also highlighted some Mets, including Alonso:
Pete Alonso is living out his childhood dreams on the #Postseason stage! pic.twitter.com/LArfPCvU6d
— MLB (@MLB) October 4, 2024
We’ll see how Fox’s No. 2 booth of Amin, Pierzynski, and Wainwright balances covering these teams.
American League Division Series
Kansas City vs NY Yankees
TNT Sports: Bob Costas, Ron Darling, JP Morosi
UniMas (Spanish): Antonio De Valdes, Enrique Burak, Nelson Cruz, Daniel Nohra
ESPN Radio: Karl Ravech, Tim Kurkjian, Eduardo Perez
Streaming: TBS; Max; Vix
Game 1: Sat, October 5, at Yankee Stadium, New York; TBS/Max 6:30 p.m.
Game 2: Mon, October 7, at Yankee Stadium, New York; TBS/TruTV/Max 7:30 p.m.
Game 3: Wed, October 9, at Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City; TBS/TruTV/Max 7 p.m.
Game 4: Thu, October 10, at Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City; TBS/TruTV/Max 8 p.m.*
Game 5: Sat, October 12, at Yankee Stadium, New York; TBS/Max 8 p.m.*
If SD/LAD ends in three games, Game 4 moves to 8 p.m.
*if necessary
This matchup has a lot to like, including the history of high-profile clashes between these teams.
And these teams come in from different positions, too: the Royals struggled to a 56-106 record last year, last in the AL Central, but shockingly went for it this year with some big offseason moves. And it paid off: led by superstar shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., who’s just 24 (and became one of just 23 players ever to post a 9-WAR season before age 25), they became the first-ever MLB team to lose 106 games one season and make the playoffs the next, posting an 86-76 mark and earning a Wild Card berth. They then handled the Baltimore Orioles in that round, winning 2-1 and 1-0.
Meanwhile, the Yankees went 94-68 and won the AL East relatively easily, helped by down years from the Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, and Toronto Blue Jays. That was a significant bump up from last year’s 82-80 mark, which saw them miss the playoffs for the first time since 2016. But this was a more typical Yankees’ season, and a lot of the success there came from perhaps the most feared 1-2 punch in baseball, back-to-back hitters Aaron Judge and Juan Soto. We’ll see how they do against the Royals, and we’ll see how Costas and Darling do with the call.
It may be particularly interesting to see how much Costas does or doesn’t bring up the teams’ past history.
Detroit vs Cleveland
TNT Sports: Brian Anderson, Jeff Francoeur, Lauren Jbara
UniMas (Spanish): Antonio De Valdes, Enrique Burak, Nelson Cruz, Daniel Nohra
ESPN Radio: Dave O’Brien, Gregg Olson
Streaming: TBS; Max; Vix
Game 1: Sat, October 5, at Progressive Field, Cleveland; TBS/Max 1 p.m.
Game 2: Mon, October 7, at Progressive Field, Cleveland; TBS/TruTV/Max 4 p.m.
Game 3: Wed, October 9, at Comerica Park, Detroit; TBS/TruTV/Max 3 p.m.
Game 4: Thu, October 10, at Comerica Park, Detroit; TNT/Max 6 p.m.*
Game 5: Sat, October 12, at Progressive Field, Cleveland; TBS/Max 4:30 p.m.*
-If SD/LAD ends, Game 4 moves to 4 p.m.
-If KC/NYY ends, Games 4 and 5 move to 8 p.m.
*if necessary
The Tigers are perhaps the wildest story of this MLB season, going from 500-1 odds (and a 0.2 percent chance) to make the playoffs back on August 10, following their trades of several veterans at the deadline. But they then went on an incredible stretch run that saw them get in with an 86-76 mark and handled the Houston Astros 3-1 and 5-2 in the Wild Card round. Led by likely AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, who’s expected to take the mound for Game 2, they’ll be a tough out.
Meanwhile, their AL Central rivals in Cleveland went 92-69 this season and won the division relatively easily. That’s a big step up from the 76-86 mark they posted in 2023, and rookie manager Stephen Vogt has done a great job in his first year there. In a conversation with AA this week, Jbara identified his work, as well as the play of José Ramírez, as key storylines on the Guardians’ side. We’ll see how those play out in this series.
H/T Sammy for the listings!